Answer to Question #208634 in Mechanics | Relativity for rinat

Question

A spacecraft passes a spherical space station. Observers in the spacecraft measure the station’s minor axis as 145 km and the major axis as 190 km.

(a) How fast is the spacecraft travelling relative to the space station?

(b) Why does the station not look like a sphere to the observers in the spacecraft?

Answer 1

Gives

Major x-axis (a)=190km

Minor x-axis (b)=145km

Part (a)

$$V_{minor}=\sqrt{gR}=\sqrt{gb}=\sqrt{9.8\times145}=37.70km/sec$$

$$V_{major}=\sqrt{gR}=\sqrt{ga}=\sqrt{9.8\times 190}=43.15km/sec$$

Space craft move in minor x-axis velocity V_minor=37.70km/sec

Space craft move in major x-axis velocity

V_major=43.15km/sec

$V_{minor}<V_{major}$

Major x-axis velocity is greater than minor x-axis Velocity

$$V_{rel}=V_{major}-V_{minor}=43.15-37.70 =5.45km/sec$$

station not look like a sphere to the observers in the spacecraft

Space craft move very long distance of eart orbital

Then not look like a sphere to the observers